


The sun and his star

by Milou28



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, Hinata Shouyou is Sunshine, Idiots in Love, Kageyama Tobio is Bad at Feelings, Kageyama Tobio is a Mess, Kageyama is terrible at communicating, Karasuno, Love Confessions, M/M, Mentioned Oikawa Tooru, Minor Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Hinata Shouyou, Pining, Sugawara Koushi is a Good Friend, Third Year Hinata Shouyou and Kageyama Tobio, Third Year Tsukishima Kei, Third Year Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Kei is So Done, Tsukishima Kei is a Good Friend, do they even get together?, hand holding, hinata shoyou is an idiot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:54:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28577826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milou28/pseuds/Milou28
Summary: Hinata Shoyo tries to navigate the minefield that is his own feelings all whilst trying to figure out his next step in the world, because if he can't stand on the court anymore, he can't stand with Kageyama.Third year Kageyama discovers that his racing heart is in fact not because of a heart attack but because of a 5"4 orange middle blocker named Hinata Shoyo.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou & Kageyama Tobio & Tsukishima Kei & Yachi Hitoka & Yamaguchi Tadashi, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Kageyama Tobio & Sugawara Koushi, Kageyama Tobio & Tsukishima Kei, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 99





	1. Side A

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!!
> 
> Thank you for giving my fanfic a chance and I really hope you enjoy reading it. There will be minor haikyuu manga spoilers incorporated, so please be aware of that before reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The songs that inspired this chapter are:
> 
> -Fly to my room by BTS  
> -Training wheel by Melanie Martinez  
> -Melting by Kali Uchis  
> -Heaven by Clairo

Karasuno boy's volleyball club currently stood at 3rd in the country. They made it to nationals for the third time in a row and were only defeated by the unshakable Itachiyama in the semi-finals. The once-fallen powerhouse had risen again, and now stood at the top of not only their prefecture, but the country.

If you asked anyone on the team or outside of it, they would say their current third years are to credit for their ascent to the summit. The third years who were once clumsy first years, barely able to get along with each other on the court, had turned from being the diamonds in the rough to phenomenal players. However some things always stay the same.

Karasuno's third years sat kneeling before their club advisor Takeda Ittetsu as he looked down at them with ferocity. Two of them were visibly shaking out of fear, one was fiddling with his fingers out of nervousness and then there was the one who simply sat without a care in the world. Yeah, some things never change.

Hinata Shoyo and Kageyama Tobio avoided eye contact with Takeda, looking anywhere but at him. Hinata leaned over to Kageyama cautiously and peered at his now stark white face and...wait he's not breathing! 

Hinata let out a quiet shriek and began pinching Kageyama to bring him back down to the world of the living, Takeda noticing this let out a deep sigh, and dragged a heavy hand down his face. He really wasn't paid enough for this. In fact he wasn't paid for this at all.

"Kageyama" Said person jerked back to life and straightened his back before yelling a loud 'yes'. "What are your plans for after school?"

Kageyama's face contorted to one of confusion, to him it was an obvious answer that pretty much anyone who knew him should know. "Volleyball"

"And do you plan to do that without a high school certificate?" Takeda groaned at the meek face that Kageyama pulled and instantly knew his answer.

"Look Kageyama, it's true you're already guaranteed a place in the pro world, but you need to think about the what ifs, like what if you can't play anymore." Kageyama spluttered at the thought of not being able to play, volleyball was his entire life and he couldn't imagine his life without it, so there were no 'what ifs'. "I'm not saying you won't, but you need to at least have the basic qualifications, okay?"

  
Takeda took Kageyama's silence as an agreement and then turned to an all too silent Hinata, who jerked out of shock from the sudden attention.

"Hinata, what about you?" Takeda watched as Hinata twiddled his thumbs together and let out a series of incomprehensible words. He sighed deeply for what felt like the hundredth time today. "Unfortunately, unlike Kageyama you don't have offers from any pro teams, so if you want to carry on playing, like I assume you do, you'll have to go down the same route as everyone else."

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi let out a few snickers at Hinata's horrified expression causing Takeda to throw one of his nasty glares to shut them up.

  
"Hinata you want to go pro right?" Hinata gave a shy nod and looked up at Takeda with these big, hopeful eyes and Takeda nearly burst into tears because it was those same eyes he saw when Hinata fell sick at the Kamomedai match.

Takeda doesn't want to crush Hinata's dreams, but he needs him to be realistic, because as of now Hinata wouldn't pass a single college exam. This meant he would never be able to play for a college team and work his way from there and for someone like Hinata, a short person playing in a position besides libero in a sport that favored the tall, getting into the league would be hard.

"Then pass those exams and get into college, If you don't chase after what you want, you'll never achieve anything"

Hinata's head hung low for the rest of Takeda's lecture, which was really only 5 minutes, he didn't really need to say much to Tsukishima and Yamaguchi seeing that they were both already studious.

Hinata didn't know where he was going after high school when he actually thought about it, but just like Kageyama, he didn't know what he would do without volleyball. However, unlike Kageyama he wasn't a genius player, he didn't have the height and he didn't have offers from division 1 teams. 

Hinata wasn't a player to take lightly on the court sure, and there's no doubting his immense improvement and without him Karasuno wouldn't have made it that far in nationals and everyone on the team knows that and so does he. But while he's an exceptional high school volleyball player, he's nothing but a scrub in the eyes of the league, he's nothing special, at least not without that quick attack and he knows that too.

  
That doesn't mean he's giving up though, not at all. Hinata's going to keep chasing volleyball forever, he's tasted the summit and now he can't stay away, he wants to climb as high as possible and eventually join the rest of the stars in the sky. He wants to stay on the court longer, just like he promised Kageyama, he wants to keep playing, he wants to keep winning, and he wants to keep chasing volleyball and... he can't do that here. He knows that too.

He was actually considering a _different_ type of volleyball training. However, he wasn't ready to announce that to anyone just yet, not when he wasn't even sure he would be able to do it. Coach Ukai and him have been researching about it extensively and had visited multiple different people to see if they had any connections, which none of them did.

Hinata had taken to spending all his free time watching matches of the sport, reading different articles about it and researching the league. He only had one last person he could ask about it, and he was sort of dreading their meeting soon.

"Oi dumbass" Hinata was shaken from his thoughts by Kageyama, who held out his hand for Hinata to grip and use to pull himself back up.

Kageyama doesn't let go when Hinata finally gets up, their palms are still pressed together, and Hinata can feel how soft Kageyama's hands are against his and now his palms are sweating and he wants to let go, but he also wants to stay stuck like this close enough to be able to count every single individual lash shielding those pretty sapphire eyes. They're so blue that Hinata wants to dive in and feel the coolness wash over him and slow his unsteady heart. He doesn't realize he's staring until Kageyama pulls his hand away and the warmth that once encased Hinata's hand was replaced by a biting cold and he recoils his hand back to his side then lets it drop.

  
  
There's a small, barely noticeable blush that found it's way onto the tips of Kageyama's ears and Hinata's not sure if he's just being delusional or if he's actually seeing correctly. They jump when the door slams, letting them know that everyone's left now and it's only them two left. Alone. They make no move to change out of their practice uniform and no attempt to communicate either as they turn to leave the club room.

There's a silence that settles over them, one that's not awkward but not at all comfortable either, but it's there and they pretend that its not. They're bumping shoulders and hands as they walk next to each other and Hinata notices that every time they do, Kageyama flinches away like he's been burnt, so he moves away slightly, and there's an aching in Hinata's chest now, and it's uncomfortable and painful and... _why does Kageyama look so damn sad now?_

Kageyama stops and grabs onto Hinata's sleeve, preventing him from going any further. Hinata doesn't say anything, he can't bring himself to. He waits patiently for Kageyama to say something as he watched the grip on his sleeve tighten and tighten.

Kageyama lets go suddenly and drops his arm back down and turns the other way, he's heading towards the gym and begins digging into the pocket of his track jacket to grab the gym key. Hinata follows without any prompt and enters the gym behind Kageyama once he's opened it.

They set up the nets, still in silence, and Hinata brings out the ball cart. He tosses a ball to Kageyama and watches it fall into his outstretched hands. He sprints as soon as the ball is set by Kageyama and pushes off the ground. All of a sudden he's flying, the air up there felt fresh and he took a huge gulp as he looked down at the court below him. This was his paradise. 

He smashed the ball down and into the very corner, just inside the court and if there was anyone there to retrieve it, they would probably fail to do so and watch in despair as the ball slipped right through their defenses.

There's no booming crowd to cheer Hinata and Kageyama on, but they still feel like they're on cloud nine when they watch the ball drop. They turn to each other and Hinata watches intently as Kageyama looks like he's about to burst if he doesn't speak.

"You better find yourself on the court, even if it's five, ten, or even twenty years from now." There's a pause as Kageyama mulls over his next words. "But if you're not fast enough I'll leave you behind"

Kageyama speaks with ferocity and Hinata feels his veins heat up because he _really_ doesn't want to be left behind. He wants to stand on the same court as Kageyama forever if he can, even when his bones grow old and his heart wears out, he wants to still stand by Kageyama. 

Hinata knows that Kageyama isn't _just_ a teammate to him.

___________

Last night before parting ways at the Sakanshita store, Kageyama, and Hinata had the most brilliant (Idiotic) idea to study together. Now that sounds like a good idea, for anyone but them. They tried to rope Tsukishima in to help them, but he just left them on read, Yamaguchi had family plans this weekend and Yachi was sick. The two were just as dumb as each other, so the whole study date idea was kind of pointless, not to mention other _factors_ that would distract them.

So here was Hinata now, standing in front of Kageyama's extremely modern looking home, afraid to even push the doorbell. His shaky hands pressed it lightly, barely even being able to apply pressure onto it, when the door swung open, startling the poor boy and making him jump out of his skin.

Standing in the entrance is Kageyama in a baby blue, over-sized sweater, his hair is slightly mess, like he just woke up and patted it down instead of combing it. Hinata finds the sight endearing and he's glad he's able to witness this Kageyama and secretly hopes he's the only one outside of his family who has. 

He's shaken into reality at the biting voice of Kageyama telling him to get his ass inside. Kageyama's voice is raspy and deeper than usual and it makes Hinata's stomach feel weird like he really needed to go to the bathroom.

He walks in sheepishly and takes his shoes off in the Genkan, storing them near the corner so it doesn't take up space and cautiously lifts his feet to check if his socks are dirty, because Kageyama's floor looks pristine and he'd hate to get dirt anywhere.

He follows Kageyama up the stairs and into his room. He's been here before, but he still feels just as giddy as the first time. Kageyama's room is pretty plain, his room is big but the only furniture inside is his bed, a bedside table, a wardrobe and a desk.

He has a Schwinden Adlers poster on the wall behind his bed and a stack of volleyball monthly's on his bedside table, a couple weights littered around in a corner, there's a vabo-Chan plushy on his bed and of course a Mikasa volleyball; his most prized possession.

Hinata thinks the room screams Kageyama, it's simple, and plain but volleyball is everywhere. He sits on the floor as Kageyama goes to retrieve a table for them to study on from the storage. Hinata notes that Kageyama's room smells like salonpas, tiger balm and eucalyptus. The scents are familiar and comforting and he finds himself sighing in content as he relaxes a little more. 

Kageyama walks in with the table and sets it down in front of Hinata. They take out their study materials and notes that Yachi helped them make and began their session. Every time they'd get stuck on how to use a formula or whether they should use 'there' or 'their' in a certain sentence, they would turn to the other and ask for help. Of course the other didn't know the answer either, and they quickly grew frustrated at what a useless idea this was.

Still they try their best to actually work, because Takeda was right, they needed to at least pass the college exams, even Kageyama who had absolutely no plans to go to college.

Hinata found himself getting distracted a lot though, his body would heat up whenever Kageyama would lean over and bring his notebook closer when he asked for help. Their limbs would occasionally brush against each other, and unlike the night before, Kageyama didn't jerk away from the unintentional contact, Hinata even thought that he might have been doing it on purpose, because the amount of times a socked foot tickled his ankle was too many to be considered a coincidence.

But this was Kageyama, he reminded himself, volleyball-ccentric Kageyama, so he should stop imagining things and getting his hopes up.

Kageyama's head thumps heavily against the small table and stays there for a moment before he turns to face a concerned Hinata. "Oi, you want anything to eat?" He gets up and leaves the room when Hinata nods in response and heads to the kitchen.

Hinata hangs his head back and leans on the palm of his hands as he exhales harshly. He really needed to calm down, otherwise the next time Kageyama so much as tapped his shoulder, he would most likely lose all composure. That was the last thing he wanted to do.

Kageyama comes back with two bags of chips and juice, plops down right next to Hinata and hands him his share.

Hinata's awfully aware of Kageyama's knee pressing against his thigh and in attempts to distract himself, chugs down his entire glass of juice, to which Kageyama takes as a challenge and chugs his. Now they're trying to out-compete each other in a potato chip eating contest.

It's stupid and juvenile and _it's them_. 

Shrieking laughter breaks through the air as Hinata bring a hand down and starts slapping it harshly against Kageyama's back as he chokes on a potato chip, Kageyama finally swallows it and turns to glare at Hinata. Hinata pauses his laughter for a minute and rubs the back of his head sheepishly and lets out a breathy chuckle, Kageyama simply snarled back at him and pounced on him.

They're wrestling on the ground now, tossing and turning and laughter bubbles out their lips. Their hands are interlocked and they feel like they belong pressed against each other, as if they were molded to fit and fill every crevice of each other's palm. They end up with Kageyama on the floor and Hinata sitting on top with his thighs squeezing against Kageyama's waist, their hands are pushing against each other and Hinata's eyes are squeezed shut, but when he opens them and looks down he's greeted with the sight of a smiling Kageyama, like actually smiling.

Not his awkward, forced smiles, a real one, one that leaves him breathless and thankful that he doesn't usually smile like that. Kageyama's smiling right at Hinata and he feels his strength go weak as he dips forwards and a little closer to Kageyama.

Hinata can feel Kageyama's breath fan over his face, Kageyama's panting a little, but so is he. Kageyama lowers his arms closer to the ground, taking Hinata down with him. Their foreheads are touching and Hinata can feel how warm Kageyama is, their eyelashes kiss as they flutter shut every few seconds.

Neither makes a move backwards, but they don't move forwards either, they're stuck in this compromising position and are oh so close that Hinata's afraid Kageyama might be able to hear his heart race. There's blood pumping into his ears and muffling all the ambient noise around them, and so Hinata doesn't hear the sound of the front door click open, but Kageyama does.

Kageyama pushes Hinata backwards and surges forwards scrambling away from beneath him, he watches with a wistful expression as Kageyama rushes out the door to greet his mother who just came home.

Hinata knows that Kageyama didn't really do anything wrong, but Hinata still can't fight the aching feeling. So he packs his bag again and leaves the room. 

He walks down and greets Kageyama's mum, pointedly ignoring Kageyama's gaze. She asks if he's staying for dinner, to which he replies no and even after she insists that he must, he still walks out the front door without looking back.

________________

It's Monday again and neither Kageyama nor Hinata had spoken since Saturday, they don't feel the need to anyways. At least that's what they tell themselves.

They're both grateful that they're not in the same class, as seeing each other so soon would be sort of awkward. See at volleyball practice, they don't have to dance around each other's shitty feelings because they're both devoted to volleyball and nothing can come between their love for the sport; not even shitty feelings.

The day passes normally, except the slow ticking of the clock is extremely jarring to Hinata as he actually tries to actually pay attention during math instead of dozing away on his desk in a puddle of his own drool. The topic they're covering isn't difficult but he just can't concentrate, not when his mind is running a mile a minute. He's completely distracted by volleyball (no surprise), his future and kageyama.

Circle theorems are the least of his problems.

When the bell finally rings, to absolutely no one's surprise, Hinata bounds out of his seat, throwing open the sliding doors and leaving. No one really paid any mind to it as it was now a usual everyday occurrence since their first year, even his teacher was so used to it that she gave up on trying to yell after him each time. 

Hinata jerks to an abrupt stop when he crashes into another body. He falls flat on his butt and scowls as he gets up again, patting away the dust from his uniform. He looks up to curse at the other person for not apologizing but he stops and his mouth is left hanging open. He sees Kageyama staring down at him with a smirk that both pisses Hinata off and makes him feel a little strange. Kageyama turns his back on Hinata, much to his annoyance, without even whispering any pardons.

"First one there" Kageyama rushed out his words and begins sprinting down the corridor, Hinata blinks in surprise before he finally catches on and breaks out into a run.

"Hey you're such a fat cheater!" Despite Hinata's words, he's laughing. 

They're racing down corridors and practically fly down the stairs. They ignore the shrieks of other students in the hallways and run even faster when they hear a teacher call out to them. They make it to the doors of the gym at around the same time, there only being a 0.1 second difference, but it counts to them. 

"Oi I won!" Hinata states proudly

"Heh don't be stupid my feet touched the stairs first!" Kageyama's panting and breathless as he speaks. 

"You're the only person who doesn't get to call me stupid" Hinata waves his hands in the air with a smug smile "Besides if we deduce the 2 second head start you gave yourself, I win by default anyways."

"Don't you mean reduce and not deduce?"

"Sh-Shut up!" 

"Oi you two stop horsing about and go get changed for practice" Yamaguchi puts on his mature, captain voice as he reprimands the two like the responsible captain he is. "Besides Hinata won that one" Yamaguchi was still a little shit at times though.

Hinata laughs at Kageyama's constipated expression as he stormed away in anger. He found it kind of cute.

____________

The two stay overtime during practice for only half an hour, before Yamaguchi comes back to scream at them to go home with Tsukishima snickering at them from behind. They run around collecting volleyballs and rushing to take down the net, with a little bickering here and there, as Yamaguchi watches them, with his hands on his hips. Captain Yamaguchi was a scary, scary man.

They all walk out together, the first and second years having already left to go home, and headed to Sakanshita store for meat buns because Yamaguchi being the good captain he is, offers to buy. Hinata and Kageyama are practically glowing and begin picking up the pace, ushering the other two to speed up too.

"Now look Yamaguchi, you've gotten the kids excited" Tsukishima speaks in a snarky tone, one that the wonder duo used to find irritating, but over the years just got used to hearing.

"Tsukki!" Yamaguchi cries out in warning.

"What? just look at our little ones go!" Tsukishima coos at the two mockingly.

"Eh Tsukishima that means Yama-Kun is your partner" Hinata holds a hand over his mouth as he snickers at the burning red colour that graces Tsukishima's and Yamaguchi's cheeks. 

"As if, Tsukishima wouldn't even have the guts to confess" Kageyama speaks teasingly, but Tsukishima just smirks and decides to bite back.

"Oi you of all people shouldn't be laughing" Kageyama's eyes turn to slits as if daring Tsukishima to carry on "You could never confess either"

Kageyama glares heatedly at Tsukishima who just leers back at him. Hinata's trying to figure out just what the hell Tsukishima meant. Kageyama had someone he liked, someone he couldn't confess to. Hinata had never felt envy like this, not over some silly little crush, an unattainable one at that. It's different than the usual jealousy he feels, it's uglier and disgusting. It feels like a burning acid that's searing away at his heart, it's a distasteful sensation and he hates it. _He hates it._

Yamaguchi notices the crushed expression on Hinata's face, he recognizes it. The expression only lasts a second before Hinata returns to his usual smiles and sunshine's look he always wears, but it's a little more strained than usual. Yamaguchi looks back up at Tsukishima and Kageyama, their gazes unyielding and spiteful, and he decides to intervene.

"Okay! Let's go get meat buns now" 

Suddenly the tension in the atmosphere diffuses and they're all thankful for it. They return back to their conversations filled with light, playful banter as they walk to the store. They stand outside with their food munching on warm meat buns for around 15 minutes before parting ways and going home. 

They've all mostly forgotten about what Tsukishima had said, except for Hinata of course, who takes to tossing and turning at night. He can't seem to fall asleep, there's too much on his mind.

He wonders about who the person Kageyama likes looks like. Pretty maybe. Athletic for sure. Tall, but slightly shorter than Kageyama. Maybe she's in his class, and maybe he hangs out with her during lunch, just them two, Hinata doesn't ever seem him at lunch so it's plausible. He must be really nice to her, much nicer than he is to Hinata at least, he probably compliments her a lot too. 

He couldn't help but feel envious, even though he had no right to.

Hinata knows that he shouldn't have even hoped for anything. He knows that. Saturday was nothing, an accident, they were simply just caught up in the moment. Kageyama could never love him. Not Kageyama, the one who rules superior and above all, a king among men, he could never love someone as petty as him. But still, Hinata loved him regardless, Kageyama was like Hinata's very own star and no one could shine brighter than him in Hinata's eyes.

Hinata doesn't realize he's crying till he feels how wet his pillows had become.

__________

The next day, Hinata tries his best to act normal. 

He acts as he usually does. Arriving a whole half an hour before everyone else to get in some extra practice. Kageyama always joins him, always. However, this particular morning, he doesn't.

Hinata arrives only minutes before Kageyama normally does and as always, waits at the gate to race him to the gym. He waits for about 3 minutes and finds it a bit unusual, because Kageyama is a punctual person and is never late to practice. He writes it off --although highly unlikely-- as Kageyama just sleeping in, so he waits a few more minutes. Even after a further 10 minutes of waiting, Kageyama still doesn't show.

Hinata huffs and folds his arms in irritation. Kageyama was the last person to ever miss practice, especially not their 1 on 1 morning practice, he racked his brain trying to think of possible excuses as to why he wasn't here. He couldn't have been sick, Kageyama took extensive care of himself so that he wouldn't get sick and not be able to practice, not to mention he was completely fine the night before. He couldn't have woken up late, when actually Hinata thought about it, Kageyama wasn't the type to sleep in, hell he doesn't even use an alarm, he just wakes up naturally at 5am every day. And there was absolutely no way he was bunking practice. He would rather die than not play volleyball.

Hinata doesn't realize how long he's stood there with a pout and a pensive expression, but it must've been a while, because Yamaguchi and Tsukishima had arrived with bewildered faces of their own.

"Hinata shouldn't you be in the gym by now?" Yamaguchi spoke in a concerned tone. "Usually you and Kageyama would be at it by now"

"Oh Uh Kageyama's not here" Hinata spoke in a meek tone, slightly embarrassed at having waited so long for a no-show.

"What? The king decided to skip huh, he must still be hung up about last night" Tsukishima quirked a brow with a knowing gaze that Hinata couldn't quite figure out.

"Tsukki what do you mean?"

"Oh, you know what I'm talking about Yamaguchi" Tsukishima smirked as he saw light bulbs starting to flicker in Yamaguchi's head as he gaped at Hinata, who was looking between the two frantically trying to figure out what they were talking about.

"You don't mean..." Yamaguchi trailed off, realization washing over him.

"Yep, the kings got it bad" Tsukishima grinned smugly at a bewildered Hinata, he really was an asshole.

"What? What is it?" Hinata began jumping up and down between the two."Is Kageyama sick?"

"You two are so oblivious, it's almost adorable!" 

"No he's not exactly sick, just a little-uh, yeah" Yamaguchi fumbled with his words as he attempted to piece together a believable excuse.

"Then where is he!" Hinata dug a hand into his hair and began tugging at the ends in frustration.

"Oi"

All three turned to see a stoic looking Kageyama, holding his kit and school bag and 30 minutes later than usual. Kageyama himself seemed pretty nonchalant, despite missing some of practice, something he would usually freak out about. No one responded to him, all of them a little shocked at his casual attitude, and weren't sure what to say. 

Hinata, after shaking off his initial shock, walked towards Kageyama with a steely gaze. "You're late"

"Yeah, yeah just go in" Hinata froze at how casually Kageyama responded and simply shoved him inside. He didn't even bother to run and race him there, just walked at a lax pace.

Tsukishima let out a low whistle and raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Wow, he's terrible!"

"Tsukki" Yamaguchi let out a warning hiss, shutting Tsukishima up in an instant. He turned to Hinata with a softened expression and spoke in a much gentler tone. "Hinata come, I want you to receive some of my jump floaters"

Hinata let Yamaguchi tug him along and simply followed absentmindedly. Kageyama brushed him aside so coldly, it felt like they were back in first year, when they didn't get along at all and Kageyama would just insult his Volleyball skills (or lack thereof) and refuse to toss to him.

Hinata hated how far away he felt to Kageyama. 

For the whole of morning practice, Hinata just practiced receiving Yamaguchi's nasty jump floaters, that had vastly improved since first year, and missed about half of them. This was still unusual for Hinata, who was known to be the best receiver on the team, even though Yamaguchi's serves were no joke. Yamaguchi was worried, not just at Hinata's obvious decrease in performance, but also how silent Kageyama was. He hadn't mocked or chided a single one of Hinata's missed receives as he usually would, and he wasn't too distracted by his own serving practice, because Yamaguchi caught him peaking at Hinata like a shy schoolgirl quite often during the practice session.

Yamaguchi sighed and really wished his teammates weren't such oblivious fools.

Coach Ukai called Hinata over towards the end of practice to talk to him privately. They talked in a hushed tone, discussing Hinata's meeting with Coach Washijou this afternoon. "He agreed to meet at around half four so we'll have to miss afternoon practice to drive there" Ukai clamped a hand down on Hinata's shoulder. "Okay kid?" Hinata nodded silently, and grabbed his bags to go change in the club room.

He walked up to a few of his kouhai's and apologized, as he wouldn't be able to help them during practice today after school. They all collectively groaned in disappointment and hounded Hinata with questions on why he was bunking practice. Hinata let out a sheepish chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck, he didn't divulge any of the details and just told them he would help out tomorrow instead.

Hinata felt eyes burn into the back of his head but didn't turn around to figure out who was glaring at him with such intense ferocity. He already knew.

____________

Hinata buckled himself into the passenger seat of Ukai's yellow Toyota and slammed the door shut. Shiratorzawa was only a 15 minute drive away and it was currently 4pm, but the campus was huge and easy to get lost in, and so needed to spare some time to even get in the right building. They were sitting in silence as they drove, the radio was turned to one of those generic pop stations and served as background noise. Ukai opened his mouth a few times to speak, but wasn't entirely sure on what to say. He settled on asking a question he already knew the answer to.

"Hinata you're sure about this right?" Hinata slowly turned towards Ukai, who was now sweating nervously, he realized it was a stupid question. "I mean, it might not seem like a huge shift, but it is. You'll have to start at the bottom again, re-learn the basics. You'll probably struggle at the beginning, and it's gonna be difficult to adjust. Ah, not to mention it might not even be situated in Miyagi, it could be in like... Akita or something"

A smile stretched across Hinata's face as he giggled and shook his head. "I know Ukai-San, but isn't that what makes it fun?"

_'a monster'_ Ukai thought _'he's definitely not human'_

Ukai cleared his throat and blinked owlishly, he didn't know what he expected, this was Hinata after all. "Alright kid, as long you know"

The rest of the ride was silent again, but short. They had arrived at Shiratorizawa around 5 minutes later and Ukai parked the car in the parking lot, right next to the Shiratorizawa volleyball club coach. They were greeted by Saito Akira, one of Shiratorizawa's coaches, who led them inside to an office. Hinata had been here before, back in first year when he snuck into the camp they held here, and his cheeks burned scarlet at his memory of the place.

Coach Washijou sat quietly, reading a local newspaper on the three seater couch, paying no mind to the three that entered. He gestured to the couch opposite him for Hinata to sit without even looking his way, to which Hinata scrambled forward to and plopped onto. Hinata fiddled with the hem of his shirt as a distraction and way to calm his nerves, glancing up at Washijou every few seconds. Washijou was being pretty nice to Hinata, so he took this as a good sign. 

Ukai and Akira discussed their findings between each other, neither having had much luck in their searches. They were closing in on a dead end and had already asked everyone they knew, who asked everyone they knew, about opportunities for Hinata. It was frustrating for the two men, who believed and rooted for Hinata so much, that they couldn't offer much help. 

"There's one person" The two were startled at the sudden interjection Washijou posed on their conversation."One of our former students switched from indoor to beach. He's currently coaching a junior indoor team" Hinata perked his head up in anticipation, listening intently to Washijou's every word, as he stared into Washijou's cold, calculating eyes. 

"Oh! As expected of coach Washijou!" Akira exclaimed in admiration "Where is he coaching? Somewhere in the prefecture?"

"In Rio" The room fell dead silent. "Rio De Janerio" 

"Eh?! Br-, Ri-"Akira began stuttering out of shock, Washijou had to be crazy if he was seriously proposing that Hinata move to Brazil for training, and Hinata would be crazier to even consider it. "In Brazil?! I mean, but, that's a little too..."

"I'll go"

There was no hesitation in Hinata's voice, it was strong, clear and unwavering. The adults in the room (besides Washijou) seemed to have underestimated Hinata's conviction,

sheer determination and passion. They all knew Hinata was a little crazy, a characteristic that they found was manifested in all these monster players of their monster generation, but none of them seemed to match Hinata's craziness. He was essentially a complete different species.

They spent the next half an hour discussing their plans, Washijou would get in contact with Katou Lucio, the man Hinata would be training with, and Hinata would have a time limit of two years, training and playing beach volleyball in Brazil. By the end of their planning, Hinata felt a little nervous, but also excited. He was finally taking his first steps and would be leaving the nest soon. 

"Thank you very much!" Hinata's head practically touched the floor as he bowed 

They turned to leave and got back in the car to drive Hinata's house, they had to discuss this with his mother and Hinata would most likely have to then deal with a teary Natsu. There was also the matter of telling the team, but he wasn't sure how to do that, it wasn't like he was just moving to a different prefecture, no, he would be moving across the globe.

"Ukai-San" Said man hummed in response "Don't tell the team just yet, I wanna tell them on my own... when I'm ready"

"Sure kid, just don't tell them too late ok? you'll want to spend some time with them, especially that little boyfriend of yours" Hinata jerked to face Ukai with a horrified expression.

"Heh?!" Hinata exclaimed, he sort of knew who Ukai was referring to, but would never admit to it. "You don't know what you're talking about it!"

"Really?" Ukai sent Hinata a sly, knowing grin to Hinata, who scoffed and crossed his arms, pouting like a child. "Okay, okay never mind..." Ukai was still grinning, fully enjoying seeing Hinata get flustered and embarrassed at his declaration. Well, it was more of a known fact in their team.

They didn't speak for a while, Hinata still a little flustered and ears painted red at the tips, and Ukai enjoying teasing the shit out of his little player. Hinata broke the silence with a question that made Ukai erupt into boisterous laughter, wheezing and gasping for air, he even had to pull over to recompose himself or he might've ran the car off the road. It was such a typical Hinata Shoyo question, yet so out of the blue at the same time. 

"Umm... Ukai-San, does that mean I won't have to take college exams?"

_____________

Last night was spent desperately convincing Hinata's mother that Hinata _absolutely_ needed to move across the world to Brazil, a country with a language he didn't speak at all, just to play beach volleyball. It took a while, but his mother was pretty supportive and just wanted her son to be happy, and even decided to go into town today and pick up a few Portuguese learner guides and book of phrases as well as a tour guide pamphlet. 

Natsu, was also supportive, but that didn't mean that she didn't cry hysterically for at least an hour into Hinata's shoulder, soaking Hinata's shirt with her tears. Hinata panicked but eventually calmed her down and allowed her to sleep in his cramped, single bed that night. Natsu slept on the inside and Shoyo half-dangled over the edge of his bed. His back and neck really killed that following morning.

He spent the next day lugging his aching and tired body around the gym and school. He didn't pay any mind to anything, too tired to use his (limited) brain power. The rest of the team noticed his lethargic appearance and decided against pestering him for help on their receives that afternoon during practice. Yamaguchi stared in concern, but ultimately chose not to comment on it, it was unusual to see their energetic resident sunshine boy look so tired, but he would ask him in private if needed. Then there was Tsukishima, who albeit was a little concerned --freaked out mostly-- at the lack of bouncing around Hinata usually did, but didn't really want to ask anyways.

Kageyama noticed too, but didn't say anything either, although usually he would. Kageyama looked a little wistful actually, he hadn't called Hinata over to set to him at all today, and was now looking both wistful and bothered. Hinata noticing this, rubbed his eyes a little, trying to rid himself of his sleepiness and skipped over to Kageyama, who turned to him having noticed him coming over through his peripheral vision.

"Kageyama!" Hinata beamed up at Kageyama with a smile so sickeningly sweet and warm that Kageyama felt his heart constrict and ache in his chest. He clutched his T-shirt and immediately thought he might be experiencing health complications."Set for me!"

Kageyama stared down at Hinata with an unreadable expression, besides the flicker of a foreign a strange emotion that passed through his eyes. Hinata waited in anticipation but immediately deflated at the response. "No."

"Heh?!" Hinata stood frozen in alarm, a feeling of trepidation settled in the pit of his stomach, _'did I do something wrong?'_ he thought. "Why not?"

"Because" Kageyama gave no further explanation as he moved to leave the gym.

Everyone in the gym stared at the unmoving figure of Hinata, who watched Kageyama vanish behind the gym doors. Yachi, who was watching the scene unfold with a sense of apprehension, felt uneasy as she watched Kageyama leave. It had been a while since Kageyama denied Hinata a set, over the years Kageyama had become more compliant towards Hinata's demands, often falling and dancing to the tune of Hinata's music.

The scene kind of reminded her of three years ago, when Kageyama and Hinata got into a huge scuffle because Hinata wanted to do their quick with his eyes open, but Kageyama refused to set to him if Hinata had them open. They ended up getting physical and didn't speak for weeks. 

Yachi quietly walked over to Hinata and gently placed her hand on his shoulder, causing him to jolt slightly at the sudden touch. "Uh Hinata...are you okay?" Hinata blinked back slowly, seeming a little out of it, and then calmly nodded.

Yachi would have thought that everything was okay, that is if she hadn't noticed the tremors that shook Hinata's hands as he clenched them tightly into fists. Hinata then stalked off out the doors before she could grab him and immediately dashed towards the vending machine, the place Kageyama was most likely to be.

Yachi looked around wildly for help, the second and first years looked away, not wanting to get between their two upperclassmen, Tsukishima just shook his head to indicate that they should leave the two, and Yamaguchi looked distraught between following them, and leaving them alone for a while. Ultimately he decided he would only go to intervene if they didn't return in the next 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, Hinata had finally caught up to Kageyama who was angrily smashing at the vending machine buttons for his milk that must've gotten stuck. He watched for a moment with a blank expression as Kageyama began kicking and shaking the machine. Was this really the guy he was madly in love with?

He shook his head and strided over to an irritated Kageyama, who was still shaking the vending machine that held his milk hostage, and stopped less than a metre away. Kageyama barely glanced his way but froze for a second when he noticed him before resuming his attack on the vending machine.

"Oi Kageyama" Hinata furrowed his brows and spoke in miffed tone, Kageyama just chose to ignore him. "Hey! Don't ignore me"

Hinata went and pulled at Kageyama's bicep, moving him away from the vending machine and closer to him. Kageyama ripped his arm out of Hinata's hold violently, causing the boy to stumble backwards a couple paces. Hinata however, still undeterred, only walked forwards again, moving closer to Kageyama, their chests now touching. He was pissed.

Kageyama's nose flared in irritation as he tried to move back, but Hinata shot his hand to grip the front of his shirt tightly, tight enough that he couldn't break away so easily.

"The hell is you problem?!" Kageyama seethed behind his teeth, animosity dripping from his every work, gripping Hinata's fist and trying to pull it off, but failing to do so. "Get the fuck off of me"

Hinata gripped Kageyama's shirt tighter, pulling him down so their noses were now touching and they could feel how warm each other were. "No." Hinata spoke without his usual cheery tone, and it unnerved Kageyama to hear. "The hell is your problem, huh?"

"I don't have one" 

"Then toss to me" Hinata began pulling his fist, that was clenched around Kageyama's shirt, back and forth, beating it against Kageyama's chest. "And stop ignoring me"

"I'm not" Kageyama was aware at how weak his voice sounded, and how he was quite obviously lying. "I just-Just..."

"You just what?" Hinata had an incredulous expression on his face, and Kageyama despised it.

"Just piss off!" Kageyama finally threw Hinata off of him and onto the ground, a furious look on his face. "You're so damn annoying and pushy"

Kageyama immediately regretted his words when he saw Hinata's crumpled form, not even making a move to get back up. He didn't register what he was saying and just lashed out due to fear and dumped all his pent-up emotions from the past few weeks onto Hinata. He was avoiding Hinata, he knew that, he also knew that he was being insanely immature. But he just couldn't understand why he felt like he was dying every time Hinata so much as smiled in his direction.

He realized a couple days ago why and had been struggling with what the actual hell he's meant to do with these newly (not exactly that new) discovered feelings. That doesn't mean he has the right to ignore Hinata then take out his shitty feelings onto him. He didn't deserve that, and Kageyama knew that.

Kageyama reluctantly moved closer to Hinata and crouched down in front of him. "O-Oi, are you crying?" Kageyama pushed Hinata's hair away from his face, he noted how soft it was and felt like digging his hands further into the fluffy locks, but Hinata harshly slapped his hand away, causing Kageyama to recoil his hand back. "Hey...I didn't mean it, s-s-sor-" Kageyama struggled to spit out an apology and honestly felt like a royal asshole, he knows just how to mess up even further.

"Shut up." Hinata muttered in small but heavy voice and pushed himself off the floor, he brushed past Kageyama, who moved to grab his hand, but just jerked away from him and walked forward. 

"H-Hinata wait!" Kageyama scrambled back up and turned to chase in desperation after Hinata, but stopped in his tracks at the cold look Hinata threw over his shoulder at him.

Hinata looked at Kageyama with such a hateful gaze that Kageyama felt his bones freeze and his entire world stop. He had _never_ looked at Kageyama like that before. Kageyama felt his heart shatter against the cement floor, red spiling out of the open wound in his aching chest.

Kageyama had never hated himself more than right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this far and I really hoped you enjoyed it, please comment your thoughts on this chapter please!!
> 
> I plan to make this story only 2-3 chapters long, so not long, but it does take me a little bit of time to write updates for this, mainly because I'm a perfectionist and get distracted easily + online school.


	2. Side B

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama's many, many failed confession attempts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay quick note for later on in this chapter.The third button on a gakuran represents your best friend, and the first represents 'oneself'. The second button represents your crush or someone beloved to you, because it's the closest to your heart.
> 
> Songs that inspired this chapter are:
> 
> \- Telephone by Vacations  
> \- Thinkin bout you by Fran Ocean  
> \- The space song by Beach House  
> \- Two slow dancers by Mitski  
> \- Loner by Kali Uchis

Kageyama Tobio was a genius.

A prodigious setter, who excelled in volleyball, and an irreplaceable player. He had first taken the world by storm in middle school and now --about to graduate high school in less than 2 weeks-- already had offers from the division V league, and was expected to partake in the 2016 Olympics a year from now. 

Kageyama Tobio was also an idiot.

A complete fool when it came to the endeavors of the heart. So much so that it took him nearly 3 years to figure out that his racing heart was in fact not because of a heart attack, but because of a 5"4 orange middle blocker named Hinata Shoyo. A fact that was so obvious to literally everyone around him, except himself. He had spent the last few months of his third year pining over Hinata but never confessing his love.

His hands yearned to dig themselves in the soft clouds that were Hinata's hair, but instead, they remained rooted and clammy by his side. The ends of his ears would blush a bruising red and his stomach would churn and dip every time that tender smile of Hinata's was directed at him. Hinata was just so comforting and gentle and oh so easy to love, the complete opposite of Kageyama.

Hinata beamed like the sun, bright and beautiful and Kageyama felt like soaring as close as possible to him, not caring if he would be burnt in the process. He understood Icarus, he thought, he couldn't stay away from something so enchanting either.

He craved to feel the warmth, that Hinata emitted, to feel it dance across his skin and lick a bronze hue across the smooth, untouched curve of his neck. When Kageyama basked in his presence he could feel all his troubles and anxieties wash away and roll off of him like smooth, soothing waves.

Kageyama however, was terrible when it came to feelings, and Tuesday afternoon was proof of that. Instead of being like any normal person, he decided to ignore Hinata, refused to toss to him, and ultimately landed in a fight with him where he called him 'annoying and pushy'.

He _really_ knows how to win them over. 

He didn't mean it really, sure Hinata was irritating at times, but in an endearing 'they're such a little shit but they're my little shit' way. Oh and Hinata was most definitely pushy, terribly so. He would always pester Kageyama to set for him, but as much as Kageyama pretended to hate giving into Hinata's incessant demands, he secretly loved it. 

That didn't matter though, those weren't the words that escaped his lips. Instead vicious and virulent words leaked out in a flurry of rage like quicksilver, red hot anger burned in his chest; not towards Hinata, but at himself. At how stupid and childish and capricious he was acting to Hinata because Hinata deserved everything good he had to offer (which he didn't think was much, to begin with) but instead he presented Hinata with hostility and unwarranted animosity.

He honestly could've just confessed to Hinata; he thought about doing that too. Yet overthinking, sheer stupidity and obliviousness made him think that Hinata might not even like him regularly, let alone romantically.

Something anyone with two eyes and a working brain could figure out was false because no man promises to 'stand at the top of the world' with another man and is not _completely in love_ with said man. 

That being said Hinata was also an idiot for not realizing Kageyama was just as infatuated with him, in fact, he knew it deep down but simply chose to quell any rosy thoughts with an abrupt _'impossible'_ because there was no way Kageyama could ever love him back. 

In conclusion, they were both idiots.

That is why they were both sulking and avoiding each other at any cost for nearly a week now. They didn't even go to their usual extra morning practices anymore, in fear of the other being there. 

Honestly, everyone around them found it both exasperating and pathetic. They were both so obviously upset at having not played together for a while now, that it seemed obvious to just apologize and go back to how they were previously. Unfortunately for them, matters of the heart are rarely ever easy when it came to two fools in love.

Yamaguchi felt like intervening, so many damn times. He once nearly grabbed a brooding Kageyama by the scruff of his neck and shook him sideways, hoping that maybe the violent actions would kick start his brain. Not to mention, because of this whole _predicament,_ he would walk home with Hinata, whilst Tsukishima walked with Kageyama; separately to avoid any awkwardness. This meant that he couldn't enjoy his usual moonlight walks home with his (unofficial) boyfriend. 

Then there was Tsukishima. He didn't care what became of the two, and quite honestly, he enjoyed seeing Kageyama silent during the walk home in place of his and Hinata's constant yelling.

He would, however, prefer to spend that time with Yamaguchi, but he would never actually admit that. He was teetering between saying 'fuck it' and telling them that they did in fact like each other and continuing to enjoy the suffering they were currently experiencing, and god did the former option look more and more tempting as the days went on.

Yachi was exhausted. She had to listen to both Hinata and Kageyama's complaints about each other constantly. She honestly wanted to tell them to 'piss off' but she was too nice to actually do that. She could also tell that unlike any of their previous fights, this one didn't solely revolve around volleyball, and didn't want to interfere and potentially make things worse.

Everyone was just getting a little frustrated at the two idiots.

____________

Kageyama laid sprawled on top of his bed, a volleyball being spun between the palms of his hand. His phone was set beside him, with no blinking light to indicate that he was receiving a notification, as he usually would at this time. Hinata had a habit of spamming him between 6pm and 8pm every day. However, recently, his inbox had been pretty empty. 

He dropped his arms to the side, allowing the ball to land on the floor with a heavy thump and fumbled beside himself for his phone, flipping it open. He opened the messenger app, and scrolled down to a one of his contacts. 

Kageyama was in desperate need of advice from pretty much anyone.

>>Hey

>>Are you free to talk?

He dropped his phone on his chest after sending the message and dug his hands into his face, dragging them down with a sigh. He didn't have to wait long for a reply and felt a buzz on his chest where his phone was only minutes later.

>>Sakanshita store in 20 minutes

Kageyama lifted himself off the bed, grabbed his jacket, and bounded down the stairs before telling his mother he would be back soon.

The Sakanshita store was 15 minutes away. This gave Kageyama at least 5 minutes to figure out what he wanted to say as he texted them on a whim. So now he was overthinking. Again. He wasn't really sure how much to tell them like, would the full story be needed? Even the embarrassing and downright irritating bits?

He didn't exactly want to divulge too much, he thought maybe a surface level of information would be okay; that would suffice he supposed. But then he remembered who the person was. 

They were the type to demand the full story --for context reasons they would say-- wanting every little detail, down to most minuscule and honestly pointless points. They said it was essential to know everything (they were just a little nosy).

Yeah so, looks like he was telling them the full story after all.

Kageyama was surprised to see them already sat on the bench next to the doors of the Sakanshita store. Two cans of hot chocolate were held in his hands; one already opened.

They had one eye closed, the other one squinted as they held a can in front of their direct vision, as they read the back of the cans ingredient list. They finally looked up at the sound of shoes pattering softly against the pavement, as Kageyama drew closer. They held a hand up to wave at Kageyama, a soft smile on their face as they did so.

"Yahoo Kageyama" Their voice sounded warm and a little raw. "Sit." 

They shuffled to the side slightly and patted at the empty space beside them. He handed Kageyama the other can; which Kageyama just held between his hands, not bothering to open it just yet.

"Sugawara-San," Kageyama greeted "How are you?"

"terrible" Sugawara quickly dismissed Kageyama's question with a blunt response and a wave of his hand "now, what did you wanna talk about?" 

Quick to the point, Kageyama noted, Sugawara wasn't really bothered with pleasantries. "I have a problem..." Kageyama paused for a moment, trying to regain his train of thought as Suga sat patiently waiting. "It's a heart problem?" Kageyama spoke with uncertainty.

"Is that a question or a statement?"

"It's a statement" Sugawara hummed in response and allowed Kageyama to continue. "It's to do with Hinata"

Suga's mouth formed into an 'o' as he patted Kageyama's shoulder in comfort. "It's about time you realized" Kageyama opened his mouth to ask what Suga was talking about but promptly screwed it back shut. "Well, what happened between you and Sho? Trouble in paradise?"

"Uh...kind of" Suga waved his hand forwards, gesturing him to continue. "We got into a fight, and now we're not speaking"

Sugawara hissed as if he was in pain before speaking. "Oh, that's bad, even for you two. What happened? a volleyball thing?"

"Well... yes and no" Kageyama spoke quickly "Tsukishima said something about me not having the guts to confess, and well...he wasn't entirely wrong, but he said it in front of Hinata. I mean who does that!" Sugawara chimed a quick 'Tsukishima', to which Kageyama quipped a soft 'true' in agreement. "Right, so I kinda, maybe, you know, avoided Hinata and told him to piss off when he asked why"

"You what?!" Sugawara choked on his drink and spluttered it on the floor. He wiped off the liquid that dripped down his lower face quickly before continuing. "Well, why are you sitting here? Go apologize idiot!"

"I would, but..." Sugawara quipped an eyebrow and urged Kageyama to complete his sentence. "Oh no, that's it, I don't have a reason"

Sugawara hung his head in his hands and let out an exasperated sigh; his Kouhai's were such morons. 

He wasn't sure what Kageyama wanted him to tell him, all there really was to do was to apologize, confess then kiss and make up. Simple.

Okay, so maybe not so simple when he considered the person who would be executing said plan.

Emotionally constipated Kageyama would probably end up insulting Hinata and proclaiming his love through volleyball somehow, instead of saying the three actual words. It's what he's been doing unconsciously for the past three years.

"Okay, let me get this straight" Sugawara held up a finger and began counting up. "You were being a little bitch"

"Ah, I wou-" Kageyama was cut off by Sugawara's index finger pressing against his lips.

"I'm not finished" Sugawara wagged his other finger in disapproval. "So you were being a little bitch, then you kicked off at Hinata and, you're now fighting and no longer talking to each other. All because you can't tell him you have a crush on him"

"I mean it's a little more complicated than just a crush, I wouldn't be here if it was _just_ that"

"Oh? then are you in love with him?" Kageyama averted his gaze from Sugawara and Suga got his response. "Kageyama what do you even love about Hinata?"

There was a dull silence that followed after Sugawara's words. Kageyama wasn't all that good with words, he didn't know how to talk about things like romance and love, he never had anyone to do that with. In fact, he would ridicule and turn his nose up at the sight of any couples, they made feel a little sick in the stomach. But maybe that was because of jealousy.

He would never be able to openly love Hinata the way they could. 

"Love?" Kageyama began. "Love when it comes to Hinata, I guess, is in how he smiles. Like, when I first set to him, I gave him the infamous king's toss that everyone else on the court ran from. He praised it afterward, declaring me the best setter ever" Kageyama chuckled in adoration at the memory "He smiled at me for the first time ever that day, and I think I stopped breathing for a moment when he did. Even now I forget how to breathe around him sometimes."

Sugawara chuckles fondly at the memory. He remembers it quite vividly, it was the beginning of Hinata Shoyo and Kageyama Tobio, the demon duo. It was the moment that changed everything for the two.

"He takes me and describes me to be this amazing, incomparable person, shitty personality and all. He means it too like, _genuinely_ means it. He promises me all these stupid little volleyball related things, and he keeps them to death. They're not completely volleyball related either though. You know, he promised to meet me on the court no matter how long it takes him, he said he'd stand beside me no matter what. I kind of hoped he didn't mean it in just a volleyball way, because I didn't"

Kageyama pauses for a moment and he's so vulnerable and transparent right now, that he looked like a man, completely and madly in love. A rare and gentle smile was perched on his lips and the dull glow of the streetlights only served to highlight the tender emotion swimming in the deep, blue of his eye, still and graceful in the calm seas. An expression far different than his usual stoic one, Sugawara noted, it was almost like he was a different person, and perhaps he was.

They said love could change men like beasts beneath the moonlight. They said a man's weakness lied in his love for another, and again perhaps they were right. There was a shaky feeling that unsettled his stomach and caused his heart to quicken and slow erratically. _Arrhythmia_ , Kageyama had thought that was what he had at first.

For the first time in Kageyama's life, he could feel himself slipping and dancing to another man's tune, and that man just happened to be Hinata Shoyo. 

"He looks at me like I'm a star, born for the big stage." Sugawara watches silently as Kageyama lets out a breathless laugh. "But, if I'm a star, then he's the _fucking sun_. He's everything and more, and I don't even have the guts to tell him that."

Sugawara doesn't feel like he can breathe after such a heavy declaration, doesn't feel like he's allowed. He knew Kageyama was in love with Hinata, everyone on the team did, but he didn't know the extent of his love. He felt like the 'love' he had experienced, was juvenile and artificial compared to Kageyama's. Then again, he thought, he understood what Kageyama was feeling, he'd been there before himself.

"Why can't you tell him?" It was a stupid question, but necessary, Suga thought.

"I'm scared" Kageyama sighs in defeat "I mean, what if he doesn't even like me? I'd be ruining everything then, and I at least want to remain by his side, even if it's just as a friend" Kageyama lets out a dry chuckle before speaking again. "But I guess I already messed that up, huh?"

"Kageyama, you know I was in love with Daichi," Sugawara notices the shocked expression on Kageyama's face, but carries on anyway. "I thought it was okay if I just stood by his side, as a friend, for the rest of time. I convinced myself that it was enough. And well, I was wrong, and now I can't do anything about it, because... you remember Michimiya right?"

Kageyama shakes his head "Never heard of her"

"Really? Oh, well Daichi's had a thing for her since first year, she was the girl's volleyball teams captain, pretty, nice, determined and Daichi's ideal type in every way" A wistful sigh escapes Suga's lips, there's a slight tremble in his voice as he continues. "Well, guess he got the girl because they're getting married next year, he sent me an invite last week. Naturally, I wailed like a baby the whole week, until you texted me actually. You know what was my first thought?" There's a pause but he doesn't wait or look for Kageyama's response. "I thought, maybe if I had confessed, that maybe, just maybe, it would be me instead, silly right?"

"No, it's not"

Sugawara laughs at that because Kageyama actually means it. "Ah well I'm not just telling you my sob story for nothing, what I'm telling you is that I regret it, not telling him I mean. You will too, you're going down different paths in life, albeit for the same goal, but your roads are diverging. If you don't tell him now, he'll slip away, and you'll end up like me three pounds heavier and spiraling... Tobio..." There's a shift in his voice as he speaks, it's small but still noticeable. His voice sounds raw like he'd just finished crying. "Tell Hinata you love him before you can't anymore"

Kageyama nods and silence follows the conversation. He mulled over Sugawara's words for a while before the man pushed himself off the bench, clapped a firm hand on Kageyama's shoulder, and bid him goodnight and good luck. He had college tomorrow and so had to leave now, and told Kageyama to text him about how it goes. He was so sure that Kageyama was going to confess, more so than Kageyama himself.

Kageyama finally opened the canned hot chocolate Suga handed him from before. It let out a hissing noise, brown liquid bubbled at the top. Kageyama brought the can close to his lips and sipped what had escaped from the seal, before taking a large gulp. It was cold now. 

_____________

A new week started and finished before Kageyama even noticed, but he was acutely aware of what he was doing.

He was avoiding the confession. 

He still hadn't uttered a single word to Hinata yet, too afraid of both rejection and just being brushed off if he asked to talk. Kageyama, however, was running out of time. Graduation was getting closer and closer, and yet he was still on the fence about things. He knew he should really just spit it out already before he's left with an empty space in his heart and a million regrets. 

He felt like a coward, he was a coward.

That's why on Monday, after careful deliberation and consulting about a thousand online forums, he finally, finally decided to confess. He decided after school would be a good time, mainly because afterwards, he wouldn't be forced to be in the same sweaty gym as Hinata if things went badly. Instead, he could cry into his pillow and nurse his broken heart in the comfort of his room.

So, after taking a quick shower to soothe his nerves, dabbing on some cologne he bought that he once saw Oikawa use, and attempting to style his hair (he ended up with the same hairstyle as always), he finally bounded out of the house with a spring in his step. He arrived within a mere 30 minutes and heard quiet murmuring behind the club room door. He thought he'd heard his name spoken once or twice, but chose to ignore it and swung the door open.

Everyone in the room froze at his arrival and quickly dispersed from their circle formation and scrambled to their lockers to get changed. Kageyama lifted a brow in confusion and decided not to ask any questions.

He didn't miss the pointed look that Tsukishima gave Hinata from across the room or the warning look Hinata sent back. It unnerved him a little to be so out of the loop, but he didn't let it bother him for too long as he turned to Hinata hesitantly to speak.

"O-Oi" Kageyama cursed himself for stuttering. "I need to talk to you"

Hinata looked left and right confused, before pointing at himself. "Who me?" Kageyama's deadpan expression was enough to make Hinata dismiss his own question. "Right... Um we can talk now"

"No" Kageyama answered abruptly. "After school would be better"

"Oh um, I can't really do after school today, I have... stuff" Hinata was extremely jittery as he talked, concerning Kageyama slightly. "We can talk now though, I'm free now"

Kageyama paused for a moment. This wasn't the original plan, in fact, the whole plan basically got derailed from its course. Flashing red lights went off in Kageyama's head and a roaring 'ABORT' rang in his head. He simply couldn't do it right now. 

"Um yeah sure, now's okay I guess..." Kageyama fidgeted with his fingers and waited for Hinata's response until he realized Hinata was waiting for him to continue. "Oh, right. So I wanted to say...uh-"

"Sorry"

"Yeah exactly, so-" Kageyama lifted his gaze off his feet and sent a perplexed look at Hinata. "Sorry?"

"Yeah, I was too pushy. I should've just left you alone" Kageyama moved forward in protest but gave up when he saw Hinata move away slightly. "So sorry."

"What? I-that's not-" Kageyama stumbled over his words. This was definitely not going how he wanted.

"Ah, well, now that that's over I feel way better!" Hinata's face perked up and stretched into a wide smile. "Kageyama, can you give me a toss today, please?"

Hinata left before Kageyama could reply, leaving Kageyama to stare absentmindedly at the empty space in front of him. He blinked owlishly and shook his head to regain his bearings, before stuffing his bags into his locker and slamming it shut. He moved stiffly, almost like a robot, and honestly felt like he was currently in airplane mode with how out of it he was feeling. He had no idea how he was feeling, and even less of an idea on how to act. Consequently, he may have taken one or two volleyballs to the face that morning.

That was a complete disaster.

____________

3 days, Kageyama had three days before graduation.

He felt like banging his head against a wall, because maybe then he would become delirious enough to adopt a false sense of confidence and actually confess to Hinata.

Every single one of his attempts to confess ended in complete and utter failure, and by the end of the week, he had gotten nowhere. Tsukishima, unfortunately had picked up on Kageyama's pathetic attempts at a confession and had taken to mocking Kageyama the whole walk to the Sakanshita store after school the whole week. Even Yamaguchi couldn't hide his snickers at Tsukishima's joking leers. Then there was Hinata, just as oblivious as always. 

Kageyama honestly thought this may have been a sign from a higher power telling him to give up. However a string of berating messages from Sugawara calling him a 'pussy' made him think otherwise.

So here Kageyama was, stuck between wanting to rip his hair out or his heart out. 

He'd spent the last night stuttering and stammering in front of a picture of Hinata that he stuck on his mirror. He thought that it would help to practice on a version of Hinata that wouldn't be able to talk back, except Hinata not being able to talk back only made him more nervous. 

"H-Hinata" Kageyama avoided the pictures eyes and averted his gaze to his fingers. "Um...I have something to tell you"

Kageyama sucked in a sharp breath and smoothed out the crinkles in his shirt with shaky hands. He looked up and bored his eyes into the picture. Kageyama's gaze turned furious and passionate, emotions swirling in his chest. 

"I love you" 

Kageyama immediately turned red in the face and thumped his head against the mirror, causing the picture to fly off. He dug his hands into his eyes and let out a low groan in frustration. He sounded ridiculous and brash, he thought.

He let out a huff and grabbed the fallen picture, before taping it back onto his mirror. He drew in a sharp breath and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and staring straight at the image. 

"Hinata" Kageyama paused briefly, for dramatic effect. "I'm in love with you" 

Kageyama felt his heart grow heavy and swell with emotion, that was how he'd confess. With that exact amount of emotion, and that exact look in his eyes, and that long of a pause for dramatic effect. Now all there was to do was actually do that, but in real life. Kageyama slumped slightly at the prospect of reciting that to the real Hinata Shoyo, embarrassment burned in him, completely overpowering any sense of confidence he previously had.

His door creaked open slowly and Kageyama didn't notice the peeking figure at his door till they swung it open fully and cackled at his horrified expression.

_He was being watched._

"I-I can't!" Miwa Kageyama stood in the doorway, slapping her hand on her thigh. She had been there to witness the whole ordeal and found it absolutely hilarious. "Tobio I can't believe it! You're in love and with little Shoyo too!"

"Oi get out!" Kageyama scrambled to rip off the picture of Hinata and threw it into the trash before stalking to the door and pushing his sister out. 

"Nooo Tobio let me help" Miwa was trying to stifle her laughter and resume the role of a good (not really) big sister. "I have loads of experience with boys, wayyyyy more than you"

Kageyama stopped trying to shove Miwa out his room for a second, he mulled over her proposal for a second before shaking his head and giving her one final shove out the door and slamming it shut in her face. He plopped onto his bed face first, hugging the sides of his pillow.

"I'm guessing that's a no?" Miwa's voice was meek but still sounded a little condescending, Kageyama ignored her.

Kageyama concluded that night that absolutely no one could be around to witness his confession to Hinata.

_____________

Today was yet another failed attempt at a confession.

He had followed everything he had practiced, right until the actual confession that is. They were interrupted by the chiming of Hinata's phone breaking through the tense air before he excused himself to take an 'important' call. Kageyama scoffed at this, since when had Hinata been receiving 'important' calls?

When Hinata had come back he had stated that he needed to leave early and bid him goodnight. Thus Kageyama's near confession plans were foiled. Again.

Kageyama had taken to grumbling the whole way home and planning out how his next confession would play out. He didn't have all that much time, there was now only 3 days left until graduation. If he didn't want to leave Karasuno with about a million regrets and unspoken words, he would have to spit out the three words already. 

Tsukishima, had noticed Kageyama's internal struggle and decided he was sick of it. He walked a couple paces behind Yamaguchi and Hinata, to catch up with Kageyama, but not without throwing a pointed gaze at Yamaguchi, who understood instantly. He slipped his headphones off his head to rest on his shoulders and dug his hands into his pockets.

"Oi" Kageyama was startled out from his thoughts at the sound of Tsukishima's sharp voice. "Stop mumbling like an idiot and just tell him"

"W-What?" Kageyama stuttered trying desperately to cover for himself. "I don't know what you're talking about"

"Yeah right" Tsukishima scoffed before turning his head directly towards Kageyama. "If you don't tell the shorty now, you'll regret"

Kageyama ruffled his own hair and gritted his own teeth before seething out his words. "You think I don't know that?! It's not easy you know!"

"It really is, you're just stalling because you're a pussy"

"I'm not!" Kageyama spluttered whilst turning to glare heatedly at an apathetic Tsukishima

"Oh yeah?" There was a harsh tone to Tsukishima's voice. "Then go confess right now" Tsukishima stopped in his tracks, stopping Kageyama with him. They stared down at each other, tension rising between them. "You can't can you?"

"Like I said It's not that easy"

Tsukishima scoffed again. "You know, you don't have much time after graduation to confess either" Kageyama lifted a brow, confused, and urged Tsukishima to explain further. "He'll be gone by the end of this week"

Now Kageyama was confused. Hinata wasn't going anywhere far, sure he might move for college, but Kageyama's also moving for volleyball. Even then, Hinata barely has the grades for a Tokyo university and would most likely stay in Miyagi for uni. The whole prospect of Hinata leaving seemed a little far-fetched, and Kageyama thought that perhaps Tsukishima was just being his usual asshole self and provoking him. 

The lack of smugness and deceit in his eyes told Kageyama otherwise. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Hinata's moving"

"For uni?" Kageyama questioned. "Sure, but he can't be going that far"

"He's not staying in Japan" Kageyama's world seemed to halt at that moment. "He really lives up to his title of being the craziest bastard alive"

Kageyama hesitated to ask any further questions, afraid of the answers. "W-Where's he going?"

"Brazil"

_Brazil_. 

If Kageyama could remember from middle school geography, Brazil was located in South America. As in the other side of the world. A 12 hour time difference.

"Brazil?" Kageyama spoke hesitantly, as if waiting for Tsukishima to correct him.

"Yup, Brazil" Kageyama blinked owlishly at Tsukishima, he wasn't sure how to respond. "He's leaving Thursday, the day after graduation, and he's leaving for two years"

Kageyama choked. "T-Two years!" Tsukishima hummed in conformation. "He can't-I mean, two years?!"

"That's why i'm saying confess already, then at least he won't go finding some Latin lover in Brazil" Kageyama leered at the imagery of an older Hinata coming back to Japan after two years with his hands wrapped around a muscular, tanned man, looking up at the man with a smile not reserved for him anymore. 

"That can't happen!" Kageyama spoke fiercely. "I mean, the hell is he even going to Brazil for?"

"Beach volleyball" 

Great. Kageyama couldn't say anything about that. It was obvious why Hinata was going to Brazil now. Kageyama felt a bit intimidated in fact, Hinata was prepared to drop everything just to make it on the big court, and eventually stand by him. A chill ran down his spine. Hinata really was the craziest bastard he's ever met. 

" _Fuck_ " Kageyama puffed out a breath and continued walking, Tsukishima followed him. "I need to confess"

"Yeah, no shit"

_____________________

It was graduation day, and the timer had ran out. Kageyama had no time left. 

Kageyama stood in the courtyard wide-eyed and mouth gaping. He held his diploma in his hand shakily and watched Hinata bounced around the place handing out his gakuran's buttons out. The idiot had somehow gained an immense amount of popularity by his third-year and had multiple girls asking for his second button, to which Hinata declared he'd just share his all his buttons evenly. Besides his second one for some reason.

He'd even given his third button to Yachi and his first for Tsukishima and Yamaguchi to share (Tsukishima told him just to give it to Yamaguchi as he didn't want it at all), but he didn't give a single button to Kageyama.

He ignored the storm of girls who took turns asking for his own second button, and simply brushed them aside before making his way to the gym. 

He swung the empty gym door open before taking off his gakuran and tossing it to the side. He set up a net and rolled the cart of volleyballs closer to the court. He grabbed a ball and bounced it once against the floor before throwing it in the air. He took 3 calculated run-up steps before launching himself in the air. 

The world seemed to still and the air ran cold and crisp. Suddenly, everything seemed to fall into place, and Kageyama was at peace. This was his safe haven, the smell of salonpas and sweat. The rough feel of volleyball jerseys and the burning smack of the ball against his palm. This is where he truly belonged.

He watched as the ball bounced gracefully before rolling off the court. He grinned slightly and went to retrieve another ball. He repeated the same movements, he felt the rush of wind threading it's way through his hair and the exhilarating heat that burst in his chest. He saw the ball curve in a perfect arch and watched it begin to drop, but a swift body swooped in and bounced the perfect serve against their forearms.

Kageyama watched with a smirk as Hinata did a rolling receive and jumped right back up, the ball floating back up onto his side of the court. 2 years ago and Hinata probably would have failed to receive that. 

Kageyama walked closer to the net, still grinning slightly, now would be the perfect time. 

A huge grin blossomed on Hinata's lips as laughter bubbled out of him. "See you later Kageyama!"

"...Yeah" The pure euphoria erupting in his chest prevented Kageyama from speaking too much, he was too afraid to ruin the moment. "See you later."

Kageyama stared back at Hinata and observed him quietly. Hinata's hair had grown out, he could probably tie it into a little ponytail if he wanted. He had also grown a little, not much, but enough for Hinata to brag about. He was a lot more muscular than he was compared to first year, much to the content and despair of Kageyama's weak heart. Yet Hinata still kept the same joyous aura he always had. It was like he'd both changed so much and not at all. 

"Ah!" Hinata's gasped in realization before scrambling to his discarded gakuran and fumbling with it. "Here" Hinata ran back to Kageyama and dumped a button into Kageyama's palm.

Kageyama inspected the button incredulously before turning back to Hinata. "The hell you giving this to me for?"

Hinata huffed in frustration before turning on his heel and making his way out the doors, much to Kageyama's confusion. He stopped just before he was going to exit and looked over his shoulder with hooded eyes. "It's my second button idiot" 

Hinata left in a flurry, no doubt to go home and pack for tomorrow, or maybe out of embarrassment, that would explain the pink tint to his cheeks. Meanwhile Kageyama was left staring at the button in his hand, he gripped it tightly and brought it close to his heart. 

"...His second button..."

___________________

Later that night, Kageyama sat crossed legged on his bed hugging his Vabo-Chan plushie and glaring at his phone in the other.

He felt the needed to contact Sugawara for advice, but didn't really want the screaming lecture that would probably come with it. He looked to the side at the button laid on his beside table and hesitantly clicked on the call button. He sucked in a breath of air and held it in anticipation. 

Kageyama was about to end the call, when Suga finally picked up. "Kageyama? Hello"

"Sugawara-San" Kageyama spoke cautiously. "I need help...again"

"Go on" Sugawara urged in a gentle voice. 

"So uh, Hinata gave me his second button..." Kageyama winced at the excited gasp on the other line.

"Kageyama that's amazing!" Sugawara sounded incredibly happy, only making Kageyama even more nervous. "So I take it you confessed then? Do you need help on like the next step or something?"

There was an anxious pause before Kageyama spoke. "...Not exactly"

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't confess" Kageyama gulped and braced himself.

"Shoyo confessed instead, is that what you're telling me?" Sugawara still sounded calm.

"Kind of... but not really" 

"He gave you his second button, at least he could do that" Kageyama winced at Sugawara's accusatory tone. "Don't tell me you froze..." 

"...I froze" Kageyama immediately pulled his phone away from his ears and prepared himself.

"You absolute moron!" Sugawara had finally snapped. "The boy you're in love with basically confesses, because your pussy ass can't seem to do it, and instead of telling him that you are in fact in love with him too, you freeze!" Sugawara screamed into the phone and paused to gasp for air, before continuing. "I've never known someone so completely idiotic, like how many times were you dropped as a baby?" 

"Ah only on-" Kageyama began but was cut off.

"Don't answer that!" Sugawara huffed. "Okay listen, go rip your damn second button of your stupid gakuran, then run to Hinata's and give a little passionate speech about how hopelessly in love you are with him. Then you give him the best kiss of his damn life, one he's going to remember on his deathbed, okay?" Kageyama didn't respond. "Do you hear me Kageyama? Don't contact me until you've done that, even if it takes you 10 damn years. However, now would be an amazing time!" 

Kageyama scrambled off his bed, throwing Vabo-Chan off his lap and grabbed a pair of scissors before aggressively cutting the button off his gakuran.. "Yeah, before he leaves for Brazil. I have to"

"That's the damn spirit!" Sugawara cheered on the other line, before quieting suddenly. "Wait...Hinata's leaving for Brazil?"

"Yeah, like tomorrow"

Kageyama heard Sugawara take in a deep breath. "Kageyama what the actual fu-"

Kageyama abruptly ended the call and threw his phone onto his bed. He could deal with that later. He ran down the stairs and shoved his feet into a random pair of shoes, that seemed to be mismatched, and barely managed to yell a 'see you later' before leaving through the front door.

Kageyama was going to confess.

______________

Kageyama had clearly underestimated the journey to Hinata's house. Hinata lived in the mountains and about an hours walk away from Kageyama's house. He really should've texted Hinata to meet him somewhere.

He had stopped after 20 minutes of non-stop sprinting to gasp for air, before breaking out into another sprint whilst yelling curses into the air. The few drivers that had passed him on the road had wondered if Kageyama had broken out of prison or something.

It took Kageyama around 40 minutes of sprinting to finally arrive at Hinata's door. He stood hunched over with his hands on his knees for a minute, or maybe five, panting like a maniac. He then shot back up and raised his hand to knock, before faltering. He was hesitant to confess, he was scared. 

He had half the mind to turn back, but the image of a ferocious beast named Sugawara prompted him to knock three times. They were heavy, but quick knocks and Kageyama bounced on the balls of his feet anxiously as he waited for someone to open the door.

He heard a muffled 'coming' and the pattering of feet and stepped back just in time for the door to be slid open. There stood Hinata in all his glory, with a perplexed face and a tiny pink hairband pulling some of his hair into a side-ponytail, along with a few clips securing his side bangs. Kageyama gaped at felt like fainting, it was all too much.

"Kageyama?" Hinata tilted his head in question. "What are you doing here?"

Kageyama stammered as he tried to speak. "Uhhh, I came to- you know" Kageyama took in a deep breath before grabbing Hinata's hand and pulling him out the door, and slamming the front door shut. "I need to tell you something."

Normally, Hinata would complain and fuss about how weird Kageyama was being, he would rip his arm out of Kageyama's hold and yell at him for yanking him with so much force, and with no shoes at that!

Yet Hinata couldn't find it in himself to do anything but nod passively. 

"Okay..." Kageyama pulled Hinata to sit on the front steps of his house, before dropping Hinata's wrist. "Where to start..."

Kageyama ruffled his hair in frustration. Confessions were hard.

"So we've known each other for a while now..." Kageyama turned to Hinata who nodded silently. "Right, yeah, so it's been a while. You'd say we're f-f-friends" Kageyama stuttered slightly, much to Hinata's amusement. "But, I don't like that."

Kageyama paused, long enough that Hinata decided to interject. "Why not?"

Kageyama squirmed in place and his eyes darted everywhere besides Hinata. "Because, it's too painful"

"What's painful" Hinata knew, but he still needed the reassurance. "Kageyama...tell me, please"

Kageyama winced, he felt like he was about to puke his heart out. Just how exactly did someone have this much of an effect on him. He felt like a fool.

"I don't like you like that" Kageyama waited for Hinata to press further, but after a minute realized he wasn't going to. "Hinata..."

There was a calm silence that enveloped them, it was suffocating. Kageyama clenched and unclenched his hands, trying to calm himself down. Hinata was silent besides Kageyama, but had about a million thoughts racing through his head. 

"Hinata" Kageyama's voice sounded weak. "I-I love you"

Kageyama waited for Hinata to say something, anything, but he didn't. He peeked at Hinata out the corner of his eyes and was greeted with the endearing image of a beet-red Hinata. The poor boy sat wide-eyed and bright faced, with his hand clenching his shirt in (failed) attempt to ground himself. kageyama felt his own cheeks heating up.

"O-Oi, say something" Kageyama reached a hand out to shake Hinata alive, but dropped it when Hinata flinched back.

"A-Ah no!" Hinata spluttered, waving his arms before resting them on Kageyama's shoulders. "I mean...I, you know"

"I don't" Kageyama stated bluntly.

"Agh, I gave you my second button isn't that enough!" Hinata seemed to blush even redder than what Kageyama thought was possible.

"I want to hear it"

"Ugh...fine" Hinata's voice dipped to a whisper as he leaned closer to Kageyama, their faces inches away now. "I love y-you" Hinata pulled away and peered shyly at Kageyama's dazed face. Hinata had broke him.

Kageyama felt a shock travel down his spine, along his ribs and straight to his heart. Hinata had whispered it only to Kageyama, as if he only wanted Kageyama to ever hear them uttered from his soft lips. Kageyama really hoped he did. 

"Kageyama?" Hinata waved a hand in front of Kageyama, which Kageyama gently caught and moved his own hand to hold.

"I love you"

Hinata blushed and dipped his head down in embarrassment. "O-Okay I get it"

"I'm _in love_ with you" Kageyama exaggerated 

"I-" Hinata was cut off by a pair of lips pressing his own. His eyes grew wider and he jerked back in shock.

Kageyama looked at him slightly stunned and tilted his head in question. Hinata groaned quietly and used his free hand to grab the side of Kageyama's face, pulling him closer. He let out a heavy sigh and tilted Kageyama's head upwards. 

"Open your mouth a little"

Kageyama obeyed and parted his lips slightly. Hinata immediately brushed his lips softly against, barely grazing Kageyama's lips. Kageyama, impatient as ever, moved forward and captured Hinata's lips in his own. 

Kageyama had never done this before, Hinata himself had very limited experience. So the kiss was clumsy, a clash of teeth and bumping noses. It was an incredibly slow kiss, painfully slow, but it was perfect. Kageyama felt like he was floating as his lips began to move more in sync with Hinata. He wondered why he hadn't thought to do this before.

Kageyama could only feel Hinata and his kiss. He didn't notice when his hand found it's way burrowed into Hinata's orange hair, or when it began to twirl and pull at the strands, eliciting a quiet whimper from Hinata. He didn't notice Hinata's hand wandering itself underneath his shirt or fingertips dancing along his spine. He didn't notice Hinata practically melting underneath him. He could only feel Hinata and his kiss.

When they finally parted, they laid their foreheads against one another's, panting softly with bruised lips and blushing cheeks. Kageyama could feel the flutter of Hinata's lashes against his cheeks and nuzzled his nose against Hinata's.

"I'm in love with you too" Hinata spoke breathlessly.

Kageyama chuckled softly and pulled Hinata to his chest. His arms snaked around the smaller boy and desperately tried to press against Hinata as close as possible. Kageyama left no space between them, he wanted Hinata to forever be apart of him like this.

He could feel Hinata's arms dance up and down his spine, and shivered as they made their way up. Hinata could hear the wild thumping of Kageyama's heart and melted further into the boys embrace. He would allow himself to indulge in this moment, just for a minute longer, then they’d deal with the loose ends.

Kageyama brushed his lips against Hinata's head and placed a chaste kiss against it. He continued to place chaste kisses down Hinata's face, his ears and his neck, causing Hinata to giggle. He lifted Hinata's right hand and began pressing light kisses against each fingertips. His lips ghosted over Hinata's palm as he looked up and into Hinata's eyes. 

Hinata grabbed Kageyama's face and pulled him in for a chaste kiss before speaking. "Kageyama...I need to tell you something" Kageyama hummed in response before nuzzling his face against Hinata's palm. "I...I'm going to Brazil, tomorrow"

"I know" Kageyama responded nonchalantly.

"Oh." Hinata replied confused. "How?"

"Tsukishima"

"Oh." Hinata cursed Tsukishima in his head, before hesitating to speak again. "So..."

"I'll wait for you" Kageyama gripped Hinata's hands on his face with his own. "However long, I'll wait"

Hinata felt conflicted. "I'll be gone for 2 years, that's a long time"

"I can wait" Kageyama spoke with certainty.

"What if I take longer" Hinata paused before continuing. "What if it's 5 years"

Kageyama moved to crouch in front of Hinata and held Hinata's hands tightly. "I'll wait"

"What about 10 years?"

"I'll wait"

"Okay 12 years?"

"I'll wait"

"20 years?"

Kageyama scowled. "Okay now you're pushing it"

Hinata erupted into a fit of giggles and brought their joined hands closer to his lips, placing a small kiss on their hands. "Kidding." Hinata directed a fond smile towards Kageyama, that made his heart practically stop. "Wait for me, just for 2 years?"

"I'd wait forever"

Kageyama had finally felt the burning heat of the sun. He felt it lick a trail of kisses along his lips and cheeks, down to his very fingertip. He felt it envelop him, soft and gentle. He felt light and fluttery, like he suddenly had wings, and perhaps he did. He had always felt like he could fly with Shoyo. He couldn't describe exactly what it felt like, but he knew he wouldn't want to feel any other way.

And as he stood in front of Shoyo, their lips and limbs tangled together, he knew he couldn't ever love anyone else.

__________________ 

Kageyama didn't go to the airport to see Hinata off. He refused to.

He refused to break down in tears when he knew this wasn't goodbye. Hinata and Kageyama would always be each others, and nothing could change that. Yet Kageyama laid in bed with a tear-stricken face and an aching heart. He knew this wasn't goodbye, but he couldn't help but hurt a little.

Hinata and him would always be connected. They would chase each other to the ends of the earth, till their bones grow weak and their limbs go slack. Kageyama thought, that they would probably chase each other in death, in the after life, and in their next life. They would always end up back together, because for Kageyama Tobio, there was no one like Hinata Shoyo. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this far!! I really appreciate it!
> 
> please leave kudos and any comments on how you found it!


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